A LOS ANGELES TIMES - FINANCIAL TIMES SPECIAL REPORT : The Next California--The State’s Economy in the Year 2000 : The Next California / THE STATE’S ROLE IN THE WORLD ECONOMY : California’s Global Economy
The Los Angeles-Long Beach customs district has more international trade than any other in the United jStates. Trade is expected to play an even bigger role in the next century in the economy of California, the gateway to the Pacific Rim.
Enterprising Exporter
Economists predict California will see dramatic export growth as it nears the 21st Century. An increase in cargo traveling through the combined ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles illustrates this expansion. Tonnage has doubled since 1981 and is expected to more than triple between 1981 and 2000.
* Los Angeles-Long Beach total port tonnage (in millions)
1981: 37.9
1982: 37.0 1983: 41.8
1984: 48.8
1985: 52.1
1986: 58.6
1987: 63.5
1988: 68.0
1989: 73.4
1990: 73.8
1991: 75.2
1992: 78.2
1993: 80.6
1994: 91.0
2000*: 138.6
* Forecast
Electronics Leads
Southern California export economy not only withstood the recession, it expanded more rapidly than the national average over the past decade. A look at the top commodities exported through the Los Angeles customs district in 1994, ranked by value:
* Value of top commodities exported (in billions)
Electronic circuits, micro-assemblies: $5.64
Parts, accessories for aircraft, spacecraft: $2.62
Airplanes: $2.47
Parts, accessories for office machines, data-processing equipment: $1l87
Cotton: $1.41
Passenger motor vehicles: $1.11
Storage units for data processing systems: $0.777
Digital processing units: $0.772
Parts for tractors, other special-purpose vehicles: $0.708
Cigarettes: $0.686
Insider Trader
Historically, the number of people emplyed in trade-related fields in California has been second onlyh to the number of Californians working in the service industry. Trade employment in the state, where economists predict one in six jobs will be in foreign trade, is projected to increse through 2004:
* Trade employment in California (in millions)
1991: 2.922
1992: 2.834
1993: 2.813
1994: 2.867
1995**: 2,978
1996: 3.071
1997: 3.177
1998: 3.275
1999: 3.354
2000: 3.430
2001: 3.510
2002: 3.591
2003: 3.666
2004: 3.737
** 1995-2004 are estimates.
Commerce Leader
The Southern California region has formidable assets for trade--more foreign commerce travels in and out of the combined ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach than any other U.S. port. Los Angeles tops the list in 1994 revenues brought in through international trade:
* 1994 value of international trade (in billions)
Los Angeles: $145.9
New York: $138.7
Detroit: $111.8
San Francisco: $80.5
Seattle: $57.3
New Orleans: $50.5
Buffalo, N.Y.: $48.5
Laredo, Tex.: $47.3
Chicago: $44.0
Houston: $42.7
Sources: “The Next Act: Southern California’s New Economy,” Center for the New West; Jack Kyser, Los Angele County Economic Development Corp.; Pacific Maritime Assn.; Paul Kagan & Associates inc.; Times reports; UCLA Business Forecasting Project; U.S. Census Bureau
Researched by JENNIFER OLDHAM / Los Angeles Times
